GULLANE, Scotland — Lee Westwood is positioned to win the first major title
of his career.

Boy, does that sound familiar.

Long considered one of the best players without a major victory on his
résumé, the Englishman curled in a 60-foot eagle putt on the way to a 1-under 70
on Saturday that put him two strokes ahead of Tiger Woods and Colleyville, Texas' Hunter Mahan.

The 40-year-old Westwood has been a perennial contender in golf’s marquee
events, finishing second or third seven times.

But he’s never been able to finish the job. He’ll try to do it Sunday at
baked-out Muirfield, playing in the final group with Mahan.

Westwood made it sound like no big deal.

“Well, actually, I’m not in a high-pressure situation, because I’m going to
go have dinner, and I’m so good with a knife and fork now that I don’t feel any
pressure at all,” he said, smiling.

“I’ll think about winning the Open championship tonight at some stage, I’m
sure. I don’t see anything wrong with that, picture yourself holding the claret
jug at the final tee and seeing your name at the top of the leaderboard.”

And, he added, “When it comes time to tee off, I should be in the same frame
of mind as I was today. I didn’t feel any pressure and felt nice and calm out
there and in control of what I was doing.”

Woods will be in the next-to-last pairing after shooting 72, a stumble at the
end leaving him two shots behind Westwood’s 54-hole total of 3-under 210.

Adam Scott is again a contender for the claret jug, though this time he’ll
have to come from behind. Last year, he seemed to have it wrapped up at Lytham
until he bogeyed the final four holes, a stunning collapse that left him one
stroke behind Ernie Els.

Scott matched Westwood’s 70 and was at 213.

At least the Aussie doesn’t have the burden of not winning a major. He took
care of that in April with a playoff win at the Masters.

“It’s a good feeling to sit here in this position, absolutely,” Scott said.
“It’s completely different. I go out there tomorrow not carrying the weight of
the lead or not having won a major. So it’s a different feeling.”

Miguel Angel Jimenez, the popular 36-hole leader, faded from contention on a
miserable day. He bogeyed four of the first eight holes, unable to scramble for
pars as he did the first two days when his drives and iron shots got away from
him. He limited the damage with birdies at the ninth and 13th, but things can
turn quickly at Muirfield.

Jimenez bogeyed the 14th, took a double-bogey at the 16th when he needed two
swings to escape a towering pot bunker alongside the green, and a lipped-out
putt on 17 gave him another bogey. The 49-year-old staggered to the finish with
a 77 and 216 total, his one-shot lead after Friday now a six-shot deficit going
to Sunday.

Those closing holes were crucial.

One shot ahead of Woods, Westwood faced the possible three-shot swing at the
16th when he yanked his tee shot into the tall grass, far left of the green, and
Woods plopped his ball about 20 feet away from the flag on the right.

Westwood whacked at his ball but couldn’t make it onto the green, watching it
roll back to the edge of the second cut. Then he putted it up the hill, the ball
stopping about 15 feet short of the cup. As Woods lined up a possible birdie,
Westwood knew he could do no better than bogey — or worse.

Woods’ putt stopped right alongside the hole, a tap-in par. Westwood rolled
his ball right in the center of the cup, having surrendered only one stroke to
his playing partner.

As it turned out, the big swing came at the next hole. Westwood made another
clutch putt on the par-5 17th, sinking a 12-footer for birdie. Woods made a
sloppy bogey after a baffling mistake, shanking his second shot in a fairway
bunker.

“He played solid,” Woods said of Westwood. “He hit a couple of loose shots
here and there, but he really played well. He made a couple of big putts at 16
and 17. And it looked like he was going to make double there [on 16] and made a
nice birdie on 17.”

Woods has never won any of his 14 major titles when trailing after three
rounds. The last time he won a major was the 2008 U.S. Open, leaving him in an
0-for-16 slump that is the longest of his career, a stretch that includes
missing four other majors because of injuries.

He looks healthy at Muirfield and still has a shot at moving closer to Jack
Nicklaus’ record of 18 major titles.

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